Marathon Running Tips

Galen Rupp Training Tips & Secret

I was impressed by performance of Galen Rupp at 2012 London Olympics. It was not the silver medal that he won that caught my eye but that final dash he pulled to storm past the Kenyans and Ethiopians. My first reaction was,”this was his lucky day” but when I checked him up online I realised this was not just luck but a product of excellent training.

Galen Rupp Talking to Running Times Magazine about his 2012 Olympics prospects,

“My 26.48 AR put me at number 16 on the world list. I’ve proven that I’m in the mix with guys like Bekele. Now it’s all about putting together the 54-second last lap I’m going to need to make the medal platform. Finishing fifth or sixth isn’t going to satisfy me. We’re after something bigger.”

Talk of confidence!!!

Two people have shaped this guy, Alberto Salazar and Mo Farah. Salazar is his running coach while Mo Farah is his training partner. Salazar has been coaching Rupp for nearly a decade and is the mastermind of his training program.

Training For the Olympics

Sports Illustrated had a training program on how Rupp and Mo Farah prepared for 2012 summer games.

On one day in France, roughly two weeks out from the 10k final, they did six 1,000-meter repeats at an average of 2:38 with just a 500-meter jog between repetitions, and then tacked on three 400-meter sprints in 52 seconds each, a workout made much more taxing by the thin air. Six days before the Games, they did an inverted ladder of three 600-meter sprints in an average of 1:36, 400 meters in 61 seconds, 300 meters in 44 seconds, 200 meters in 27 seconds and then a blazing 300 in 37 seconds flat, followed at the very end by an all-out 400 in 51 seconds. Just before leaving for London, Rupp ran a 100-meter sprint with a two-step running start in 11.03 seconds, his fastest ever. They were ready.

Salazar has also worked on the mental side of things. He has drilled into his head the importance of self belief. “You just believe when it gets to the end, whether it’s a fast race or a slow race, you’re going to outkick them. If you develop yourself to that point, the race becomes very simple. You don’t really even have to look at the clock.”

Having a Training Partner helps.

When Salazar brought Farah into their training group at the Nike Oregon Project in the winter of 2011, Rupp was sceptical. Trust me, Salazar said. Farah would be a good friend and a necessarily challenging partner. They would make each other better runners. Rupp came to see that Salazar was right.

This is what Rupp said immediately after winning silver at 2012 London Games “I’ve been able to train with the greatest distance runner in the world,” Rupp said afterward. “He’s been an unbelievable mentor to me.”